Monday, May 30, 2016

Iraqi Forces Lead Operation to Take Falluja from ISIS

FALLUJA, IRAQ – On May 30, Iraqi forces began an operation designed to take ISIS controlled Falluja. U.S. military aircraft supported the forces..
NBC News says this operation is the most recent in a set of attempts to force ISIS fighters out of Falluja.

According to the BBC, about 50,000 civilians are trapped within the city. 760 civilians have been evacuated from Falluja, CNN says.

Iraqi forces including counter-terrorism forces are closing in on Falluja from multiple sides, according to an official statement received by the BBC.

ISIS fighters are attempting to slow the operation with suicide and car bombings in the city.

ISIS forces have also attempted to shift focus away from Falluja to Baghdad. 
They’ve been executing bombings in Baghdad. The bombings have killed 24 people, according to the New York Times.

ISIS issued an online statement claiming responsibility for the bombings.

Falluja has been under ISIS control since 2014 and is 40 miles west of Baghdad.

Explanation of Story Choice

I chose to brief this story because it has almost all the elements of news worthiness. First, it has impact. Falluja was the first city that ISIS took in 2014, and it would greatly disrupt them if they were to lose it. In addition, taking Falluja would mean a win over ISIS and a step toward defeating them. It has immediacy, because the operation was just launched today. It has prominence, because it involved a well-known terrorist operation. It has conflict, because it is a military operation between ISIS and Iraqi forces. Finally, it has emotion because 50,000 civilians are trapped inside the city and are at great risk of death or serious injury. 

8 comments:

  1. Samantha, nice work on your stories for the week. You had a good variety of stories which broke it up nice so nothing seemed redundant. They were clear, concise, and effective making it easy for the reader to understand and not be lead by bias. Stories were beautifully written and look forward to reading more of your work.

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    1. Thank you for your comment Alexander. I tried to make sure that my stories didn't cover the same kind of topics so the readers wouldn't get bored. I appreciate your kind words and look forward to writing more stories for this class.
      -Sam

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  2. Hi Sam,

    Great stories! I love that you include the location of the story immediately, it really emphasizes your professionalism. I also like that you hyperlinked your sources directly into the story, making it easy and accessible for anyone who was interested in reading more. I agree with your reasoning behind choosing this story as it is extremely relevant and timely. I look forward to next week's stories.

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    1. Thanks for your comment Taylor! I try to make sure that I include all the 5 Ws and H in all my stories. Sometimes, putting the where right up front makes it easier to get that W out of the way. Thank you for noticing all the hyperlinks. I want the readers to be able to go back to the original stories and read for themselves as well.

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  3. Samantha,
    I really like how you broke everything up, it make it extremely easy to navigate. Additionally, it kept me interested while reading. You choose a great variety of stories.

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    1. Thank you Elissa. I thought it would be easier to read and comment on stories when they were all separated as individual posts. I tried to find different types of stories for local, national, and international. It kept me from getting bored while writing them, and hopefully my readers when reading them.

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  4. Sam,
    I think you did a great job on this story! You posted the important facts, you were concise and you executed the story well. I remember when Fallujah was taken over, and I am glad that the Iraqi forces are trying to take it back. I'm not sure if the bombings in Baghdad are helping to deter the Iraqi forces. I guess we shall see. Great Job!

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    1. Katie, thanks so much for your comment! I think this is a story that we're going to end up watching unfold for weeks. It's obviously not going to be an easy win, but I hope they get it back.

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